Easy Avocado Jalapeno Spread

One of my all-time favorite snacks has to be toasted bread with avocado mashed up on top, and maybe a sprinkle of coarse salt and pepper. The crunch of warm, toasted bread with creamy, smooth avocado is delightful in its simplicity. Its rustic nature appeals to me, and I also take a certain amount of pleasure from smashing the avocado into all the nooks and crannies (that's not strange, right?). 

Of course, I’m an avocado lover to begin with, often sneaking it straight out of its shell before my fellow avocado-loving husband realizes he’s not getting his fair share, so maybe it’s just me. Either way, I recently tried adding in bits of chopped jalapeno, so I thought I would let you in on my little secret – it turned out delish!

Tzatziki Sauce

A few weeks ago my sister made the suggestion that I try making homemade tzatziki sauce for the blog. For those unfamiliar, it’s a Greek appetizer made with yogurt and cucumber, and works great as a dip or spread. I wanted to make Vegetarian Gyros last night, which would not be complete without the cool and creamy taste of tzatziki, so I decided to finally take her advice and give it a try! I found a recipe that I liked on tammysrecipes.com, and the instructions seemed simple enough, so I got started.

Spicy Hummus

Yesterday was a long and draining day. I was in a grumbly mood and definitely craving some comfort food, so I decided to whip up some yummy hummus, or yummus as I like to call it, while waiting for dinner to finish cooking (I made my roasted vegetable medley again - so good!). I discovered a really great hummus recipe several months ago and made a few alterations to it, as usual, to fit my liking. Their recipe called for 1/3 cup olive oil, which I reduced to 5 Tbs (mainly because I kept using up all of the olive oil!); I also added more lemon juice and a tablespoon of pine nuts, which made an excellent addition. 

One thing is for sure, this yummus doesn't hang around very long. Garlicky, spicy, a little tangy, and oh so tasty; this dip is great with vegetables, crackers, or chips (I really enjoy it with tortilla chips); and also makes a terrific addition to sandwiches.

"Everything" Cheese Spread

Last night my husband and I were at our local grocery store. I’ve been eyeing these delectable looking everything bagels in the bakery department for a while now, and decided to go ahead and pick them up for breakfast this morning. I could smell the onion and garlic seeping through the package, and could practically feel the poppy seeds in my mouth, the way they pop and crunch with every bite. I was so ready to toss them in my basket when I turned them around to look at the nutritional information (I like to torture myself): 330 calories, and only 3 grams of fiber. Next to them were the whole wheat variety (staring me down with their bran crumbles on top) with only 280 calories, and 9 grams of fiber. I liked what I was reading on the whole wheat variety more, but I was practically drooling over the everything version. Now since I don’t often buy bagels, I was okay with splurging on something not entirely healthy, but then I had a thought: what if I buy the whole wheat bagels (which I also really like) and make an everything-type spread to go on top! Problem solved.